In early intervention, researchers often are interested in interpretation aids that can help determine the relative importance of variables when multiple regression models are used, and that facilitate deeper insight into prediction dynamics. Commonality analysis is one approach for helping researchers understand the contributions independent or…

This article focuses on a qualitative teacher research project with a fourth-semester university Spanish class that emphasized inquiry-based learning. One of the primary objectives of the class was to increase learner autonomy through self-selected inquiries, self-directed learning activities, and curricular negotiation. Multiple data sources were…

The curriculum is packed with so much content that teachers resort to telling students what they know and students simply commit facts to memory. The packed curriculum leaves little time for students to acquire a deep understanding of the subject or to develop life-long skills such as critical thinking, problem solving, and communication. However,…

Eila Burns undertook the enquiry that is the subject of this article while studying for her MEd degree at the University of Birmingham. She is now a lecturer in teacher education at Jyvaskyla University of Applied Sciences in Finland. The project she describes here aimed to assess the effectiveness of peer tutoring and the advantages of the…

The early drafts of the National Science Education Standards (NSES) did not include any mention of staff development; it was not considered as part of the needed visions for changing school science. It was when the final draft was offered to the leadership in the National Academy of Sciences that a section on Staff Development was added in…

It is argued that learning and instruction could be conceptualized from a process-analytic perspective. Important questions from the field of learning and instruction are presented which can be answered using our approach of process analyses. A classification system of process concepts and methods is given. One main advantage of this kind of…

Although there have always been people considered to have mental retardation (MR), the category has proven surprisingly difficult to define adequately. This is because it includes a subcategory of mild MR whose members are part of a larger population of marginally competent people, some of whom may be considered to have other forms of disability…

Post-productivism is a contested concept, and some argue that it should be abandoned. In this paper, a more focused definition for post-productivism is suggested. Evidence for change in forestry and agriculture that could be categorised as post-productivist is presented, in relation to both the narrower definition and to characterisations…

This article addresses how NASA uses inquiry in the classroom so that students can see learning in a whole new light. The goal is to increase scientific literacy among Americans and to entice a greater number of students to pursue careers in science, technology, engineering and mathematics. Although NASA offers a diverse array of programs that…

Can cognitive research generate usable knowledge for elementary science instruction? Can issues raised by classroom practice drive the agenda of laboratory cognitive research? Answering yes to both questions, we advocate building a reciprocal interface between basic and applied research. We discuss five studies of the teaching, learning, and…

Background: Those engaged in research might argue that we are involved in a process of explaining the world to others and to ourselves. The way in which we go about that process differs. The kind of questions we are concerned about answering will determine the approach we use, the information we gather and how we analyse the data. Some research…

The authors surveyed 15 secondary school teachers in 5 states about how they designed and implemented long-term stream monitoring in their classrooms and the problems and benefits they encountered. The authors surveyed students involved in the stream monitoring projects to obtain their perspective. Teachers reported that stream monitoring provided…

This article describes one urban classroom and the language and literacy practices jointly constructed by a veteran urban teacher, Lynn Gatto, and her 3rd grade students. Drawing from two ethnographic studies of Gattos 2nd-4th grade looped classroom, we argue that Gatto and her students use the interplay between strategies and tactics (De Certeau,…

'Science as inquiry' is a key content standard in the "National Science Education Standards" to be enacted by US science teachers. This paper is the result of a study that was conducted in order to understand factors that impacted the inquiry-based instruction of 14 beginning secondary science teachers. These teachers were part of a collaborative…

This study examined prospective elementary teachers' learning about scientific inquiry in the context of an innovative life science course. Research questions included: (1) What do prospective elementary teachers learn about scientific inquiry within the context of the course? and (2) In what ways do their experiences engaging in science…